Centrifugal governor



Aug. 2l, 1923.

E. MCCRACKEN ET A L CENTRIFUGAL GOVERNOR Filed March 5l 1920- 5 .Sheets-Sheet 2 E/77mg? ZZZCQ Aug. 421, 1923.

E. MCCRACKEN ET AL CE1-JTRIFUGAL GOVERNOR Filed March 3l 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Aug. 21, 1923.

naires stares ERNEST MQCRAGKEN Ann GAEOLD c. J. GRAY, or Hns'rmss, NEERASKAQASSIGNOES or ONE-THIRD To H. B. Kans'rnve., or Hnsrmes, NEBRASKA.

CENTRIFUGAL GOVERNOR.

To all who/m, t may concern:

Be it known that we. ERNEST MCCRACKEN and GARoLD C. J. GRAY, citizens of the United States, residing at Hastings, in the have invented new and useful Improvements in Centrifugal Governors, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to improvements in vcentrifugal governors for internal combustion or steam engines or machinery of any kind requiring accurate and sensitive speed control.

One object of our invention is Vto provide a governor which may be placed at any working angle desired or as circumstances may require, and which will be automatically balanced'in action at Vall times so that it will not be affected in its control or the part to .be governed by sudden ijars, vibrations or similar temporary irregular motions of the'mechanism as a'whole or the drive shaft of the engine or prime mover.

Another object of the invention isv to provide a governor embodying a plurality of cooperating centrifugally controlled elements conjointly acting to oppose. sudden and irregular actions of the governor and operating to sensitively balance the same for smooth and regular control motions.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a governor which obviates the use of jointed parts and in which all los-t motion or wear of rotating and sliding parts will be automatically compensated for and taken up, with a consequent reduction of'wea'r and tear and assurance of greater durability andV working eiiiciencyl of the governo-r mechanism.

`With these and other objects inl view, the invention consists of the features of construction7 combination and arrangement of parts7 hereinafter fully described and claimed, reterence being had to the accompanying drawings, in which V Figure l is a central, vertical longitudinal section through a governor constructed in accordance with our invention. Y

Figure 2 is atop plan view of parts thereof.

Figure 3 is a side elevation'of the governor. Y Y

Figure 4 is a detail vertical longitudinaly Asection through one endofthe governor.-

casing.

v A6-6 of Figure 5. county of Adams and State of Nebraska,

ing another modifiedform ofthe invention.

Figure 5 isaV viewsimilar to lligu'reV l showing aV modified form ofthe invention.'v

Figure 6 isa sectional view on the line Figure7 is a view. in side elevation showln the form of our invention shown .in

UFigures l to 4, inclusive, the governor casing .5 is constructedof two semi-spherical sections, and kone of these sections is pro-V vided with a flange or head 50 for attaching' said casing to a support 5l7 which may be a part of the frame or chassis of a vehicle bearingv projection extending from the governor casing. The governor shaft in this construction has a body portion composedofa pair of spaced plates 56 united by. tubular end portions 57 and1585theend portion 5'? being liXedto the `bushing52 and suitably coupled to a drivingshaftf),

while the end portion 58 has a cylindrical extension 60 fenclosed in the tubular prof' jection 55 and-turning in thebearing 54.

.The plates form a support. for .the cen- .trifugal governor bar or lever 115, which is hollow or tubular and pivotally mounted upon a-cross Vpin* or ,bolt-"17a, the arms, 18a of said lever forming enclosing guideways for -ballsor spherical weights 19a which are slidablymounted therein for outward movement under the action of centrifugal'A force. l

The outward` movements of these weights 19FL is resisted-and controlled by-substan-- tially U-shaped spring controlled levers 22a,

each of said levers having `an arm 6l pivotally connected with the lever ,15. as at 62,

and an arm l63 movable in a guideslot 64- in the cooperating lever arm l8r1 and attached to or bearing at its extremity uponthe cooperating weight 19a, the spring-arm 63 resisting outward movement of the'weightlQaV V by rits Yresistance:tofflexion and exerting its.

spring action to return the weightto normal position, 'the control. lever 22a being also free to swing on its-pivot to adapt the ment and'toensure anv easy movement thereof. 4Thelever 15a haspivotally connected .weight to have the required range omove- Y-20 of ``the engine.

with a spherical vcontact head 25a for engagement with the Contact head26OA of the sliding governor rod 27a to move the same in one direction ,against the resistance of the: spring 2.9?. As shown, the tubular eX- tension 55 is threaded to receive a screw plug or nut 28a forming an abutment for one end of the spring 29a and through the adjustments of which the tension of said spring may be regulated.

In the -f'orm of our invention shown in Figures 5 and 6, the governor casing 5 iS of the `sectional construction previously described and has oneof its sections provided '15 with a bolting fllange 50 Jfor attachment to la vframe support 51. The governor here 'shown is particularly adapted for use upon VFord, tractors, and the support 51 may form one of the walls of' the crank casing Asshown this wall has an opening 64a to receive theadjacent side of the Vgovernor vcasing section 6. which is provided with a tubular bearing extension l65 which projects into the crank casing,

the said casing section r6 and bearing eXten- 'sion 65 being provided with portsror passages 66 and GT, whereby lubricant may be applied to the working parts of the governor from the crank casing. The governor V .shaft 12 isfrhere shown as journaled in opvposed end bearings 68 and 69 fitted inthe extension 65, the bearing GS being retained rin position by a `thrust collar 70 fitted on one end of the shaft, while the other end of the-shaft carries aworm pinion 71 meshing withY a worm gear 72 on the cam shaft 73 whereby the governor shaft 12 is driven. The end of the shaft 12 which enters the casing 5 has secured thereto a pair of spaced `plates 711 forming a Vsupport for the centrifugal governor lever 15, which ispivotally'mounted upon a cross pin or pivot member 17. rlhis lever 15 is hollow or tubular and, as in the construction shown in Figures 1 and 2, its arms -18 form guideways for sliding weights 19 movable outwardly along the length of said arms by centrifugal force and limited in their outward movement by stop pins 20. These weights 19 are controlled by substantially U-shaped spring vcontrolled levers 22, each having an arm 61 hinged or pivoted to the cooperating governor lever arm 18, as at 62, and an arm '63 movable in a guide slot 64 in the said governor lever arm and bearing upon or attached at its extremity tothe cooperating weight 19. The spring Vcontrolled levers 22 in this construction, have aY dual control Vmovement, its spring "50 arm operating byits own flexibility to per- -mit the ball 19 to have a certain range of movement, -while'the said 'spring controlled lever as a whole is also adapted to swing I p on its' pivotal connection to ensure easy and '-65 free lmovement of the weight along "the ineniber.26"u )on the lower `end of the overnor control rod 27', which is held'mounted for vertical instead of horizontal movement and may be directly coupled at its upper end to the arm 35 of the friction disk 36 or ioupled Vthereto in any suitable manner. As shown, the lower' end-ofy the rod 27 is movable in the upright or verl tical portion of the tubek 5 and is slidable upwardly forv control action under the movement of the thrust rod 23 against-.the resistance of a spring 29. This spring 29 bears at one end against an adjustingxnut or cap 76 having an opening 77 therein of greater diameter than the rod 27 and provid'ed with rounded walls adapted to permit the rod to, oscillate as well as reciprocate inits control movements for an obvious purpose, the tension ofsaidv'spring being regulable by adjustment of the nut 76. ln this construction also motion is transmitted from the contact member 25 to the contact yniemberQ-G through oneor more interposed freely movable balls 78, which are adapted to travel easily in the bent portion of' the tube 75, thus enabling the motion of'vthe rod 23 to be sensitively transmitted to the Yrod 27 without the use of connecting joints, such constructionwalso allowing the rounded head 25 to rotate freely and easilyY in the tube as it revolves with the governor control lever. It will be observed that this feature offconstruction is also presenty in thefforms ot the invention shown in Figures I1 to inclusive, and of importance and advantage in transmitting motion from the centrifugal governor lever toithe control rod without the use of joints liable. 1*

through wear and tear, to become :faulty and irregularin action, it being evident from the constructions described thatall wear and tear Aupon the motion transmit- Vting surfaces between the thrust rod and i governor rod being compensated for and taken upfby theV action of the governor rod control spring. ln the rforms of theinvention' illustrated, we have shown amode of connecting the governor casing .sections-1 which may be remployed. and wherein one of the casing` sections is provided with .a flange T9 to overlap the adjacent `edge of the other casing section,'said ange 79 of one section being provided with vinclined lll) 4upon the other casing section.

tion between the" casing sections whereby said sections may be connected by a relatively rotary movement. The lcasing sections are also formed with threaded openings to receive a fastening screw SQvfor securing the same against rotary movement and lia'- bility of casual displacement of one section upon the other section. I

In the form of our invention shown in Figure 7, 12b designates the body portion of the governor shaft, which is composed of side plates 56a which may be cast or stamped from a single piece or otherwise suitably constructed. The governor lever l5b is pivotally mounted for movement between these plates on across pin 17b and is of hollow or tubular form so that its arms 18b form guideways for the sliding spherical governor weights 19". Fixed to the pin 17h is the crank arm or-yolre 24h to which is pivotally coupled the thrust rod 23b carrying the contact head 25h. The lever arms 1S are providedin their sides with guide slots 83 to receive the offset cross pore tions 84 of substantially U-shaped lweight control rods 23h. The weights 19b areprovided with transverse openings for the reception and passage of said cross portions 84, on which the weights are pivotally mounted or journaled so that they may-turn freely in their back and forth travels to reduce friction. The cross portions 84 connect the arms of each rod at one end, and at their opposite ends the arms are bent outwardly forming pintles 85 pivotally engaging ears 86 on the body 12b. By this construction it will be seen that the use of springs may be dispensed with and that the rods 23h form positive connections between the lever and weights whereby the throw of the latter will at all times be controlled, the rods 22D also allowing a wide range of movement ofthe weights for an exact and equal counterbalancing or lever age action. Y

In all the forms of our invention an important advantage is gained, i. e., as the gov e control Y description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and mode ofV operation of our improvedycentrifugal governor will be readily understood and the advantages thereof appreciated without further and eX-` tended description. K'Ihe invention is primarily adapted for controlling the speedY of automobile or other internal combustion engines or steam engines,butis not limited to this use in this connection, as Vit may also be employed for controlling the speed of operation of variousparts of machinery. By vslight modifications in the construction or arrangement of the working parts, such as disclosed, the invention may also be adapted for use in connect-ion with stationary or marine engines, automobile or tractor engines, or other internal combustion orv steam engines arranged in either a vertical or horizontal position, and in which theV throttle valves are also arranged in different positions with relation to the engine.

Having thus fully described our invention,

' we claim l. In a centrifugal governor, a rotary shaft, a lever centrally pivoted to the shaft for movement to different angular positions under centrifugal force with relation to the shaft, said lever having hollow arms provided with slots therein, weights movable ,within and longitudinally of said arms,

said arms, means for y-ieldingly opposing n outward movement of said weights, and controlling means governed by the movements of the lever. Y

3. In a centrifugal governor, a rotary shaft,a lever centrally pivoted to the shaft and having hollow arms projecting equally upon opposite sides of the shaft, said arms being provided with slots, kweights mounted within and movable longitudinally of said arms, springs hinged at their outer ends to the outer surfaces of the Varms Vand extending through saidfslots and .having their inner ends arranged to bear upon the weights for opposing a yielding resistance to the outward movement thereof, and con-l trolling `means i governed l by the movements of the latter. y

4C. In acentrifugal governor', a rotatable shaft, a lever pivoted intermediate .its ends to said shaft, the outer portions `of said lever being hollow, the said` hollow Vportions being provided with longitudinally disposed #e meer@ loosely mounted in said lever upon eeeh side 'or' the eentrellv pvoted support thereof,

yeldable members Carried ov seid lever and extenclmgr through selcl slots and lymg u1 the peth of outward'movement of seid balls, l

end eontrolling means governed: by the movementsvot' sind lever;

tures.

ERNEST MCCRACKEN. GAROLD o. lJ. GRAY p n testimony VWhereo We elle( our'signa- 20 Y 

